AQIP Systems Portfolio Feedback Reviewer’s –OCC Response Document _________________________________________ June 2012

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CATEGORY ONE – HELPING STUDENTS LEARN PROCESSES 1P9. How do you detect and address differences in students’ learning styles?

Reviewer’s Feedback: A formal learning styles inventory assessment (VARK) is used; however, it is not clear if the tool is used for all students as part of new student assessment or is voluntary. Moreover, the link between assessment results and the program of services and training that enable faculty and students to adapt to different learning styles is not explicit.

Opportunity In Progress OCC Response: At this time, several diagnostics/learning style assessments are used in the first year experience program. These assessment tools include Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Jung Typology Test, Barsch Learning Style Inventory, and VARK to provide feedback on multimodal teaching strategies that address students’ needs. Additionally, these results are shared with the students. Students are encouraged to share these results with other instructors as well as professional tutors. In an effort to improve the linkage between assessment results and academic support services, OCC is in the process of assessing new students during the required New Student Orientation. These results will be discussed with the students during their required advising sessions and available for instructors to review. Advisors will provide appropriate information on support services based on the assessment results. OCC is also in the process of exploring technology that will allow assessment results to be easily shared with appropriate stakeholders to enhance student success. 1P11. How do you define, document, and communicate across your organization your expectations for effective teaching and learning? Reviewer’s Feedback: Strategic planning, standing committees, the Center for Teaching and Learning, AQIP projects, and other efforts were cited as evidence for communicating expectations for teaching and learning. No mention was made regarding the selection, orientation, and promotion/advancement of faculty or the large group of adjunct faculty. Clarification OCC Response: Academic departments work with Human Resources through the hiring process of faculty and adjunct faculty. Human Resources advertises locally and in some cases through trade publications dependent upon discipline to attract and recruit qualified faculty candidates. Human Resources also has advertised for adjunct faculty candidate pools by program. All faculty (adjunct and full time) are oriented at the College through the monthly orientations facilitated through Human Resources. Promotion and advancement of faculty are also conducted through the Center for Teaching and Learning. The Faculty Professional Development Committee has members who are representative of all schools, including faculty and administrators. This committee meets monthly and routinely requests faculty feedback on areas of interest. The Faculty Development Committee has an established budget to conduct faculty trainings. The members of the Faculty Development Committee also review candidates for the College’s teaching and excellence awards. The Rank Committee is another avenue for faculty advancement and promotion. It is a committee of peers, and members are representative of all schools. 1P15. How do you determine and address the learning support needs (tutoring, advising, placement, library, laboratories, etc.) of your students and faculty in your student learning, development, and assessment processes?

Reviewer’s Feedback: Clear processes are in place to assess the learning needs of students as tracked by Tutor Trac (Learning Center) and LibQual+ (library); however, the college recognizes a need to further identify faculty needs. Clarification OCC Response: The Center for Teaching and Learning supports faculty programs and services such as the Faculty Development Center, faculty orientation, faculty in-services and adjunct faculty programs. The Center for Teaching and Learning website provides faculty access to a teaching resource called Center for Faculty Excellence. This site also gives faculty access to Northwest ABLE Resource Center’s professional development resources. In addition, the Faculty Professional Development Committee and eLearning’s programs in BlackBoard and Quality Matters actively identify and implement faculty training in alternative teaching methods. In an effort to further identify faculty needs, OCC is in the process of planning the first annual professional development days. In October, the college will have a fall break whereby no classes will be held for students, but all faculty, staff, and administrators will have the opportunity to participate in professional development. The two-day professional development days will include sessions on assessment, technology, retention, and student success. 1P16. How do you align your co-curricular development goals with your curricular learning objectives?

Reviewer’s Feedback: An opportunity exists to align a number of co-curricular activities with curricular learning objectives. Creating this alignment will enhance the importance of the co-curricular experience.

Opportunity In Progress OCC Response: A taskforce has been created to research and recommend implementing service learning across the disciplines. Funds have been allocated and a part-time advocate dedicated to service learning has been hired to support the implementation of college-wide service learning. Additionally, service learning has been infused into many of our learning communities focused on retention and completion. OCC hired a Director of Service Learning in December 2011 to formalize a strategy to include service learning as part of curriculum across departments and courses. Students in selected courses have the opportunity to find appropriate projects for themselves or they are assisted in doing so by the Director. A database of about 75 local organizations who work with OCC to provide opportunities is maintained. Students also have the option of receiving formal training from organizations such as Hospice and domestic abuse agencies, giving them a further educational opportunity beyond the classroom. Methods are currently being set up to formally assess and quantify service learning statistics, and these are expected to be in place shortly. It is estimated that around 200 students take part in service learning activities each semester. There are three types of service learning opportunities that are available: direct service learning, where a student interacts directly with clients, such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Toledo Grows, or Migrant Services; indirect service learning, such as fundraisers and assisting with the development of materials for an organization; and advocacy, where the needs of a certain group are reviewed and promoted. RESULTS 1R2. What are your performance results for your common student learning and development objectives? Reviewer’s Feedback: Although OCC students scored above the national norm for critical thinking, the scores for writing skills, essay skills, and math skills displayed some downward trends and were below national norms. The Portfolio does not show results of all defined processes.

In Progress OCC Response: The 2008 core competency assessment reports are available at https://www.owens.edu/ssp/general.html. New core competency assessment reports will be posted on the Student Success Plan site annually. OCC faculty and staff have been consulted about the declining scores in writing and math, and they are working on analyzing possible reasons for this trend and on implementing measures to attempt to reverse the trend. CAAP is not the only assessment tool used to measure student level of achievement of the core competencies. Faculty and staff responsible for the assessment of these competencies are working on improving the assessment measures and on determining a reasonable process for administering the measures. The Student Learning Assessment Committee (SLAC) will be reviewing the implementation of summative assessment measures for the general education core competencies as well as the programs. OCC purchased the TaskStream Accountability Management System (AMS) in early 2010. With the implementation of the TaskStream Accountability Management System, the assessment facilitators will be able to maintain an ongoing electronic report that will more effectively capture and communicate assessment information. Discussions about the data collection and reporting processes are occurring at the department and program levels. The Student Learning Assessment Committee has refined the rubric used to evaluate the assessment reports completed for the programs and the general education core competencies and will be applying the rubric to the 2009-2010 reports that were submitted in July. A copy of the rubric can be found at https://www.owens.edu/ssp/slac.html. RESULTS 1R3. What are your performance results for specific program learning objectives?

Reviewer’s Feedback: It appears from review of the school and departmental reports that approximately one-third are still under development and several of those shared do not appear to be done annually (several of the last reports were from 2006-2007). The results of student learning assessment are not consistent with information provided with the student learning assessment processes (described in IP18).

“OO” Opportunity In Progress OCC Response: The assessment of the original student learning action project (2006) was retired and rolled into a “phase II” as well as assigned to a permanent committee: the Student Learning Assessment Committee (SLAC). Included in the implementation will be the new Accountability Management System “Taskstream” software package, which will assist in making the assessment process efficient and more effective. SLAC has established a series of goals for 2010-2011. While part of this information was not updated in IR3 of the portfolio (as described in IP18 due to a lack of space, there were more results and there has been much progress made in this area. Since the submission of the portfolio, the integration of AMS TaskStream has helped OCC manage the assessment process in a much more efficient and effective way. Evidence of this can be seen in the 2010 and the 2011 HLC review of Action Project One, the assessment of student learning (see document). The institution has accomplished numerous goals and objectives pertaining to Action Project #1 (assessment of student learning). The Student Learning Assessment Committee (SLAC) and the faculty assessment facilitators have continued to serve as the institutional champions to lead the college forward in advancing the culture of assessment. They have assisted the campus community with achieving the following major initiatives for 2009-2010: The committee approved revisions of the Narrative Template, Feedback Form, and Assessment Rubric. SLAC, along with the Center for Teaching and Learning, sponsored a series of assessment workshops featuring keynote speaker Dr. Susan Hatfield on November 13-14, 2009. \ SLAC was also pleased to welcome Amy Hermiller, Instructor, Developmental Mathematics, as the Mathematical Reasoning Core Competency Facilitator. The committee is currently coordinating the transition

to Taskstream, a software application that will electronically house all assessment reports and documents starting in fiscal year 2010-2011. The committee co-chairs conducted several training sessions on the use of Taskstream throughout the summer semester to assist facilitators, chairs, and other assessment report writers. The committee has increased the number of submissions for assessment review to nearly every eligible program on campus. Finally, SLAC has engaged in preliminary discussions regarding the elimination of the Social Responsibility Core Competency with a possible replacement of Civic Engagement. The focus of this new competency would be a required service learning component. The committee will look to make a formal recommendation during the next fiscal year. A continued goal for this action project is to institutionalize the AQIP concept of “shared responsibility” for assessment of student learning. To that end, listed below are many motivational and communication avenues that have been created to keep the campus community active in, aware of, and participative in the project. Various methods of communications were updated to inform the campus community of assessment efforts: the Owens website, Blackboard shells, presentations, updates at school meetings, and semester opening meetings. A Quality Council subcommittee reviewed the student evaluation process on campus during the spring and summer semesters. After thorough data-driven research, it was decided by the QC committee members that SLAC will become the new champions of student evaluation beginning fall 2010. SLAC will investigate how the summative evaluation can better serve the campus community and improve assessment. This will necessitate the involvement of several different committees and individuals to assist in the completion of this project. (The QC subcommittee decided to eliminate the formative evaluations) The progress of the project is regularly reported upon at President’s Cabinet, AQIP Planning Council, and the Quality Council. This project currently has over 50 participants and since its beginning has involved over 200 college employees. Because of its success and importance, it is a very popular project to volunteer for here at Owens. We have found by communicating our progress/information through the various media detailed above, that the college community becomes motivated and interested in becoming a part of ultimately helping students learn and succeed. It has been our observation that the more media coverage and exposure we give a project, the more inquiries for information and potential participation are received by various college stakeholders. The institution has made significant strides in advancing the culture of assessment. The following outlines the SLAC Committees plans for continuous improvement and goals for the 2010-2011 fiscal year: Review the Program Review and Evaluation Process (PREP) to incorporate the assessment plans. A Quality Council subcommittee reviewed the student evaluation process on campus during the spring and summer semesters. After thorough data driven research, it was decided by the QC committee members that SLAC will become the new champions of student evaluation beginning fall 2010. SLAC will investigate how the summative evaluation (the QC subcommittee decided to eliminate the formative evaluations) can better serve the campus community and improve assessment. This will necessitate the involvement of several different committees and individuals to assist in the completion of this project. Other progress evidence can be seen from the following:

• Development of a SLAC Handbook. • Creation of a Civic Engagement Core Competency with an emphasis in service learning to replace

Social Responsibility. • An increase in communication and assessment awareness across campus. • 100% of submitted reports reach the “Established” classification as set by the assessment rubric. • Continued efforts to increase the total number of submitted reports. • Continued efforts to provide models of exemplary reports to assist program report writers. • Discussion of the addition of a student representative to the committee. • Development of a tactical plan for SLAC. Increase campus familiarity with Taskstream.

SLAC has developed a consistent and straightforward assessment process as a result of our revised narrative, rubric, and feedback forms. The commitment from the college to implement Taskstream will allow the committee to further improve how assessment is administered across campus. The institution has accomplished numerous goals and objectives pertaining to Action Project #1 (assessment of student learning). The Student Learning Assessment Committee (SLAC) and the faculty assessment facilitators have continued to serve as the institutional champions to lead the college forward in advancing the culture of assessment. They have assisted the campus community with achieving the following major initiatives for 2010-2011: •The committee has helped successfully guide each program writer and core competency facilitator team at Owens in submitting all assessment materials into the Taskstream system. •The committee co-chairs conducted multiple training sessions and workshops throughout the academic year focusing on assessment essentials and Taskstream navigation. •SLAC has integrated norming sessions as a regular agenda item for each meeting. The focus of these exercises was to gain consistency with how reports are reviewed as well as how to provide more useful and meaningful feedback to report writers. •SLAC plans to coordinate a pilot of the Learning Achievement Tools (LAT) component of Taskstream that will focus on E-Portfolios. All appropriate stakeholders involved with this initiative participated in a training session during the summer semester. •SLAC continues to explore the elimination of the Social Responsibility Core Competency. A team focusing on Service Learning is currently developing a proposal that will fill that void. The institution has made significant strides in advancing the culture of assessment. The following outlines the SLAC Committees plans for continuous improvement and goals for the 2011-2012 fiscal year: •The primary goal for this academic year is to create process and mechanism by which to better assess the college’s core competencies. Currently, the college does not possess adequate data that reflects graduating student’s abilities to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attributes associated with the competencies. Each Core Competency Facilitator will also re-evaluate the components that are currently listed in the 2011-2012 academic catalog as to breadth and relevancy. • SLAC will coordinate a pilot of the Learning Achievement Tools (LAT) component of Taskstream during the Spring 2012 semester. All students enrolled in FYE 121 First Year Experience will be required to submit various materials into this e-portfolio system in order to help better manage assessment and evaluation as well as to better track student progress throughout the course. •A team will be identified to participate in the Assessment Academy provided by the HLC. •SLAC will make a final recommendation to the college for a new summative evaluation process. This recommendation will be sent to each standing committee on campus for further review. •Continue to explore Service Learning as a additional core competency. •100% of submitted reports reach the “Established” classification as set by the assessment and feedback rubric. •Continue to provide models of exemplary reports to assist program report writers. •Continue to provide training session and workshops of assessment essentials and Taskstream navigation. The following provides steps planned to advance these current goals forward: •Each facilitator will be asked to condense the current competency components to be more broad based and speak to more global skills and knowledge that a student will need to demonstrate. The team will need to determine appropriate instruments, both direct and indirect, in order to measure these components at various stages of the student’s curriculum path at Owens. This may also require training and norming for faculty teaching outside of the current disciplines measuring these components (ENG 111 and 112 for Developmental Writing, for example) to properly assess. Communication of the results will then be shared with all appropriate stakeholders on campus.

•Training sessions have already taken place for the LAT system and lead faculty and administrators are prepared to move this pilot forward. All results will be shared with appropriate campus stakeholders. •Upon final recommendation of the new summative evaluation process by SLAC, a draft will be sent to the following standing committees: Academic Standards, Provost’s Council, Chairs Council, Quality Council, AQIP Planning Council, and the Owens Faculty Association. A recommendation to the Provost will not occur until approval has been granted by each committee body. •A team was established Fall 2010 to examine Service Learning as an Owens Core Competency. This team has met with members of SLAC and other various standing committees. A recommendation will be made by this team as to proceeding. •The Co-Chairs will continue to provide training sessions and workshops throughout the year in order to help educated report writers as to collecting for useful and valid data, Taskstream navigation, and producing better articulated outcomes assessment reports. The last piece of crucial evidence that demonstrates the commitment to Owens Community College has into improving our assessment of student learning model is the commitment to the Higher Learning Commission Assessment Academy. Owens applied for and was accepted into the Academy and began its first cohort meeting in June 2012. The draft action statement was developed, goals were set, and a four-year plan was put in place. This process will soon be finalized after input from the college is considered. Every six months, the assessment team will advance the project to another level. We have identified the need to simplify the assessment of general core competencies. We recognize that the present core competencies represent course level student learning outcomes rather than being more general outcomes that represent learning occurring within all programs at the college. The assessment Academy project will also allow OCC to communicate and train the entire college, in that assessment is not just done and owned by The School of Arts and Science. In addition by developing organizational level assessment competencies and measurable outcomes, we can begin tracking cohort-based key performance indicators, such as how students improve their general education core competencies during the time they are here taking classes from beginning to end. The results of the assessment Academy are set in such a way to allow us to measure assessment at the course, program, and organizational level, as well as communicate results and outcomes, ensure that changes are made based on these outcomes, and close the loop by measuring to make sure that the changes that are made were the correct ones. Communication is a key factor. Faculty involvement is also key and critical. 1R5. What are your performance results for learning support processes (advising, library and laboratory use, etc.)? Reviewer’s Feedback: Although current studies show that students completing OCC first-year experience courses had higher retention rates and that OCC students are performing comparably or better with regard to one-year retention and transfer rates, employment rates, mathematical and critical thinking skills, and licensure examinations, three-year success rates are slightly below average. No report was provided on library usage, overall advising, laboratory use, etc. In Progress OCC Response: Passage Rates - Licensure and certification exam passage rate trends are being compiled and will be posted to the IR website. Updates will be reposted annually. Data will show total exam takers, number passing first time, and percent passing first time. Math/Computer Labs - The number of students using tutoring services offered by the Learning Center has consistently increased each semester. Since tutoring is not required, this growth suggests that students perceive the Learning Center as providing good academic enhancement services. In August of 2010, the Learning Center changed the method it uses for tracking student visits. Instead of using Tutor Trac, a database which did not communicate with other Owens databases, the Learning Center now uses Banner, the college-wide

database. The wealth of data on Banner, including enrollment, completion, grading and graduation information, can now be assessed in correlation with the receipt of tutoring services. This will enable the Learning Center, with the assistance of Institutional Research, to more accurately assess its impact on student success and retention. The Learning Center also shares jurisdiction over a common computer lab with Information Technology Services. The facilities provided there are championed by Cathie Kelly Lopez, the CCL Manager of that department. Library Usage – The Dean of the Library maintains regular usage statistics. For calendar year 2009, there were 224 library instruction classes, 32,457 books were circulated, the weekly gate count averaged 2,104 and the weekly reference transactions averaged 1,365. This data is regularly reviewed to provide the staff, services and support for students’ needs throughout the semester. Advising – The office of the Provost has implemented a process for caseload advising and a required advising structure. In addition, the caseload advising can be tracked through the Banner system. The advantage of utilizing caseload advising is that students know who their advisor is throughout their enrollment. Additionally, a new advising structure has been implemented. This new structure has allowed OCC to employ a full-time advising manager for our six schools. A team of advising representatives for each school reports to managers, allowing for the students to have a greater connection to their school dean, department chair and faculty members. Included in the new advising structure is required advising for all new students. This required advising allows the students to build a strong relationship with their advisor. In addition to required advising, advisors are utilizing a student assessment tool (College Student Inventory) that identifies the individual strengths and weakness as well as the receptivity for interventions for each student.

CATEGORY TWO – ACCOMPLISHING OTHER DISTINCTIVE OBJECTIVES

PROCESSES 2P5. How do you determine faculty and staff needs relative to these objectives and operations? Reviewer’s Feedback: The comprehensive process for determining faculty and staff needs is not fully described. Part of this description should include more detail on the Shared Leadership Model and its impact on the assessment of faculty and staff needs.

Clarification

OCC Response: (5/23/2012) The Shared Leadership Model was launched in January 2009 to provide a new model of leadership that puts decision-making close to those whom it directly impacts. It promotes better communication among College constituents and encourages a two-way flow of information. It is structured of two councils that work together to support AQIP and ensure quality in making adoptive decisions. Members of these councils are drawn from all College departments, schools, and areas, such that the decision-making is shared among key individuals that are impacted by these decisions. Overall, the model promotes accountability, elimination of committee overlap, clarification of council responsibilities, improvement in the tracking of committee progress, and improved communication across the College. In early 2008, the newly founded Center for Teaching and Learning conducted a faculty-wide survey of training needs that resulted in priorities for in-service training around teaching and classroom management methodologies. For the past two years, in-service training for faculty members has increased in frequency and breadth, leading to new skills and knowledge that has increased the quality of teaching. In addition, an increase in faculty training for e-learning has led to a rise in the number of online courses offered, along with student satisfaction with the quality of those courses. Since that writing, all college departments have been charged with developing individualized tactical plans that will align with the overall strategic plan. Those plans include the identification of training needs. Some of those needs will be addressed with the assistance of HR’s training function and some will be assisted by either other internal sources (e.g., the Faculty Development Center) or external contractors. The Office of the Provost has an open door to encourage face-to-face communication and

the Provost is also involved in the mutual interest forum meetings with the Owens Faculty Association, which encourages communication and finding win-win solutions. Academic standing committees such as the Professional Development Committee, the Curriculum Committee and the Academic Standards Committee are integral in assessing faculty and staff needs as related to student learning. All non-bargaining unit employees are offered New Employee Orientation training, which includes the history of Owens, FERPA overviews, payroll and retirement training, organization overview, and safety. Training designed for supervisors is offered on a regular basis, as is training on legal and HR issues for deans and chairs. In January 2012, the Center for Teaching and Learning, which offers training on various classroom technologies and topics of general interest to faculty and staff, was moved under the purview of the HR department. Selective training in diversity and Safe Zone is offered on a regular basis to employees. PROCESSES 2P6. How do you incorporate information on faculty and staff needs in readjusting these objectives or the processes that support them?

Reviewer’s Feedback: The Portfolio does not offer sufficient explanation of the actual process with regard to how feedback is reviewed, analyzed, and translated into improvement.

Clarification OCC Response: Academic standing committees such as the Professional Development Committee, the Curriculum Committee and the Academic Standards Committee assess needs related to faculty training and development, curriculum and academic policies and procedures. These committees are representative of faculty and administrators of each school. New proposed or changes made to academic policies and procedures are first reviewed by the Academic Standards Committee and are then presented college-wide to faculty, staff and administrators for feedback. Final, edited policies are then recommended to the Board of Trustees for approval. The mutual interest forums between the leaders of the collective bargaining units and administration may result in memorandums of understanding (MOU) which meet the mutual needs of faculty and the College. These MOUs are then recommended to the Board of Trustees for approval. Final MOUs are implemented and filed with the State Employee Relations Board. RESULTS 2R3. How do your results for the performance of these processes compare with the performance results of other higher education organizations and, if appropriate, of organizations outside of higher education?

Reviewer’s Feedback: More extensive comparisons with peer institutions will benefit OCC with regard to the rate of giving and the size of the alumni body. Limited comparisons are reported for alumni association membership and WCS activity.

Clarification OCC Response: The Foundation periodically engages in benchmarking against similar institutions both in and out of state. Most recently, an analysis conducted for Noel Levitz compared the Owens Foundation to the top five community colleges in Ohio as well as selected out-of-state community colleges of similar size enrollment.

College Enrollment Fdn Assets (as of last

990 filed) Assets Per

Student Total DP

Revenue, 2008 &

2009

College of DuPage (IL) 26032 $ 8,554,322.00 $ 328.61 $ 1,960,016.00

Cuyahoga County CC (OH) 24289 $ 22,403,536.00 $ 922.37 $ 5,613,252.00

Columbus State CC (OH) 22745 $ 4,823,036.00 $ 212.05 $ 1,739,100.00 Lansing Community College (MI) 20394 $ 9,365,263.00 $ 459.22 $ 2,120,806.00 Georgia Perimeter College (GA) 19955 $ 7,246,254.00 $ 363.13 $ 1,828,591.00

Sinclair CC (OH) 19103 $ 21,547,132.00 $ 1,127.94 $ 2,534,096.00

Johnson CC (KS) 19088 $ 22,112,867.00 $ 1,158.47 $ 3,072,506.00 Monroe Community College (NY) 18977 $ 10,152,203.00 $ 534.97 $ 4,376,820.00

Owens CC 18739 $ 2,152,144.00 $ 114.85 $ 813,271.00

Lorain CC (OH) 9000 $ 23,993,232.00 $ 2,665.91 $ 11,029,690.00

Clark State CC (OH) 3583 $ 12,673,557.00 $ 3,537.14 $ 1,071,919.00 The Foundation will continue to strategically benchmark itself against other similar institutions with respect to fundraising activities, disbursement of restricted and unrestricted funds, and staff. The Alumni Association has done some preliminary benchmarking against other community colleges in Ohio with regard to membership dues and spouse memberships. At least five community colleges in Ohio have no formal alumni association. Several others charge membership fees comparable to Owens’ Association. As part of its plan for future growth, the Association will be continuing to strategically benchmark the OCC Alumni Association with other peer institutions, both in Ohio and elsewhere. Such comparisons may include whether or not an institution has a formal Alumni Association, and if so, its membership and dues structures as well as the extent to which association members participate in annual giving campaigns or other fundraising activities. The Learning Resources Network (LERN), the leading association in community education, continuing education, and contract training, was engaged by Owens Community College (OCC) to complete a Program Review of OCC’s Workforce and Community Services (WCS) Division. The Program Review was designed to respond to the needs of the WCS Vice President to measure WCS’ effectiveness. In 2010, a LERN representative visited WCS for two days to review data, information, and materials analysis and to meet with staff. Over the last 35 years, LERN staff has had the opportunity to work with many of the most successful community college continuing education and contract training divisions. Many of the best practices LERN reports on and teaches come from these divisions. The last few years have been difficult times for many divisions. The divisions that have succeeded have done so for six primary reasons – a) their structure allows revenue generators to generate revenue; b) they make data-driven decisions; c) the industry best practices are followed; d) a one-year plan and two-five year strategic plan are followed; e) their software system supports

the needs and processes of the division; and f) the leader of the division has a direct link to the institution’s leader. According to LERN’s 2010 report, approximately 30 percent of continuing education and contract training divisions have reported overall increases during the last two years (WCS was part of that 30 percent), while 70 percent report numbers flat or down. The following are positive accomplishments identified during LERN’s review of WCS’ programming, marketing, sales, and operations efforts, processes, and procedures.

1. WCS has centralized many operations tasks. 2. WCS has done a good job of transitioning to Banner and Banner Flex-Reg. 3. WCS’ Vice President sits on the President’s Cabinet. 4. WCS uses salespeople. 5. WCS spends 10 percent of their budget, the industry benchmark, on promotion. 6. WCS runs courses if production costs are covered. 7. WCS’ Apprenticeship serves a number of locals, generates FTEs, and provides WCS budget and programming flexibility support. 8. WCS’ CEP and Green programming is unique and respected. 9. WCS is not overly dependent on one program area, market segment, or delivery method.

RESULTS 2R4. How do your performance results of your processes for accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives strengthen your overall organization? How do they enhance your relationships with the communities and regions you serve?

Reviewer’s Feedback: It is clear that results for OCC Foundation strengthen the entire college, but some actual data is needed to document the extent to which this occurs. Similarly, the focus on the apprenticeship program as a distinctive objective led to the growth of this program, but citing the actual number and growth rate would make these achievements more material. Clarification In Progress OCC Response: One of the objectives identified in the College’s strategic plan is to “develop an overall fund development plan to increase revenue.” Since the implementation of the Foundation’s strategic plan in 2007, fundraising via gifts and grants has risen from $259,344 for FY07 to $354,228 for FY10, an increase of 37 percent. Moreover, in 2010-11, the Foundation awarded $196,258 in scholarships, more than doubling scholarship awards since FY06. The Success Scholarship Program is leading to increased enrollment from participating schools. For example, in Fall 2008, enrollment for recent Woodward graduates increased 92 percent from the previous five year historical average, and enrollment for recent Findlay graduates increased 43 percent. In Fall 2009, the second year of the Success Program, average enrollment for recent graduates from Toledo Public Schools, Whitmer High School and Findlay High School increased 30 percent over a five-year historical average.

For its part, the Alumni Association created the Alumni Legacy Scholarship Fund. Since 2004, 24 Alumni Legacy scholarships have been awarded. This Fund was established in 2004 with a $10,000 donation from the Association, and is significantly supported by the Alumni Association’s Annual Golf Outing, which has raised over $260,000 in support of students scholarships and outreach activities since 2003. Currently, the Fund stands at over $150,000.

The Alumni Association has made other significant investments in the College. A donation of $60,000 to name a classroom on the Findlay-area Campus; a donation of $10,000 to the Foundation’s Success Program; and the establishment of a memorial endowed scholarship fund of $10,000 in the memory of former Athletic Director Michael Rickard are a few such examples.

With respect to WCS’ apprenticeship program, from 2003-2009 the program experienced steady growth, as the spring 14th day report numbers will show (as submitted to the Ohio Board of Regents).

Spring Enrollment Year 14th Day Enrollments

2003 2383 2004 3546 2005 3591 2006 3752 2007 3900 2008 4228 2009 4412

Starting in 2010, Owens went to a new reporting structure that combined the WCS apprenticeship numbers with the numbers for the School of Technology.

As a result of the difficult economic climate in 2010 and 2011, several organizations have not taken on new first-year apprenticeship classes due to the lack of potential work for them, and this has, unfortunately, impacted the apprenticeship program enrollment.

IMPROVEMENT 2I1. What recent improvements have you made in this category? How systematic and comprehensive are your processes and performance results for Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives?

Reviewer’s Feedback: Specific recent improvements are described, but the Portfolio does not detail how processes are both systematic and comprehensive.

Clarification In Progress OCC Response: The College has invested resources to assist the Foundation and Alumni Association to grow. For example, the College Development department (which includes both the Foundation and the Alumni Association) also includes the Grants and Government Relations functions. New administrative support positions were added to the Alumni Association in 2008 and College Development/the Foundation in 2009. The Grants office grew to include a Grants Coordinator in 2010 and a Grants Developer in 2011. The expanded College Development department has embarked on a strategic planning process for the department with a view toward maximizing the resources available to best meet the College’s future resource needs, including alternative revenue streams through grants and fundraising. The Foundation is now adding Raiser’s Edge software; has embarked on a feasibility study to explore the potential of a fundraising campaign; has expanded representation on the Board of Directors; has developed additional policies and procedures such as Gift Acceptance and Endowment Agreements in line with the new UPMIFA law. The Foundation has overhauled its webpages to allow for enhanced communication and transparency. The Annual Giving Campaign has grown significantly, from 231 donors and $44,589 raised in 2005-06 to 314 donors and $154,259 raised in 2010-11. The Owens Faculty Association established a new endowed scholarship fund as did the Perrysburg Rotary Club. The latter fund, established in 2009, now stands at $60,000 and is expected to grow to $100,000. In addition to complimentary memberships given to all new graduates for one year, Alumni Association membership has grown from 64 paid members in 2002 to 750 paid members in 2010. Before WCS opened its new satellite facility in Arrowhead Park, Maumee, in early 2010, it embarked upon a comprehensive review process, which involved, among other things, utilizing the College’s Institutional Research (IR) department to access the potential market at Arrowhead. For example, IR conducted a study of student origin by zip code and school, providing analysis of which areas might currently be under-served by

the College (such as southwestern Lucas County, where Arrowhead Park is located). Recently, WCS explored the feasibility of opening a new facility in Fostoria, using the same market analysis from the Office of Institutional Research as well as local community members and college stakeholders as was done prior to the Arrowhead Park opening. In May of 2012, Arrowhead conducted an environmental scan to better understand the area in which it resides. This scan determined that 71% of the enrollment at Arrowhead comes from eight zip codes representing a three -mile radius. Whereas previously efforts were made to attract students from far-reaching areas to the west of the location, such as Napoleon, Whitehouse, and Wauseon, marketing efforts are now being revised to cater to the needs of this nearby group. Some of the suggested changes are full associate degree programs completely available from Arrowhead, hybrid classes and block schedules that would allow a cohort to complete a degree by attending just one or two nights per week. More 200-level courses are being offered at the Arrowhead site, allowing students who are enrolled there to stay longer rather than having to continue their studies at the Toledo campus. Additionally, more short-term opportunities have been offered through the Arrowhead Workforce and Community Services to assist area residents in pursuing career opportunities.

AQIP CATEGORY 3: UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS’ AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS’ NEEDS

3P1. How do you identify the changing needs of your student groups? How do you analyze and select a course of action regarding these needs?

Reviewers Feedback: OCC uses campus-wide forums, formal surveys, and informal information gathering to determine student and stakeholder needs. The process for selecting a course of action with regard to stakeholder needs is not described.

Clarification In Progress

OCC Response: There are some examples of the way that student needs are determined and how this leads to action. The recent mandatory New Student Orientation helps to identify potential issues, such as areas that students may not fully understand or at-risk students who may need additional assistance in getting oriented to college. This data is turned over to advisors and counselors who provide outreach to the students. It is hoped that this intervention will lead to increased retention.

The Foundations of Excellence project led to several recommended actions at OCC. Recently, for example, steps have been taken to hire a Director of Student Mental Health Services to assist students with personal and psychological problems. The Foundations of Excellence project also was the catalyst for mandatory New Student Orientation.

Much formal and informal gathering of student information is accomplished at OCC via many different avenues. Plans are in place to track some of this information, perhaps through Banner or IT, so that it resides in a single centralized location. This will assist OCC in seeing trends and in planning future action based upon these trends.

Early Intervention directives allow faculty members to refer at-risk students to counselors and advisors based upon their day-to-day observations of students who may be unsuccessful at completing courses. Advisors contact students in an effort to assist them with navigating their first year and continuing to be successful at OCC.

3P6. How do you collect complaint information from students and other stakeholders? How do you analyze this feedback and select courses of action? How do you communicate these actions to your students and stakeholders?

Reviewers Feedback: OCC uses a robust and consistent process to collect and analyze responses by students. The college cites various formal and informal avenues in which student complaints are collected, but it is unclear how faculty complaints are handled. In addition, it is not clear how courses of action are ultimately communicated back to students and stakeholders.

Clarification

OCC Response: For faculty members with complaints, individuals have a variety of methods they can follow. They can go through their union reps or labor relations personnel or they can make the complaint to their chair or dean. They may also go directly to the Office of the Provost or, if the complaint concerns a student, to the Dean of Student Conduct. There is a formal grievance process that can be used as well. In such cases, a formal grievance is filed and handled by HR staff members, depending on the nature of the grievance. In the case of these formal grievances, a formal reply is sent from HR that presents the decision to the faculty member. Less formal conduits are used if the faculty members use other methods of presenting complaints, such as meetings with the administrators who were consulted.

Student complaints are collected in many ways. An anonymous course evaluation survey is given to students at both the mid-term (formative) and final week of class (summative). Faculty and department chairs use evaluation results to review course delivery and to assess effectiveness. If students voice concerns to the faculty or staff, the students are directed to the appropriate administrator, or in certain circumstances, to the Vice President of Student Services if a judicial review is necessary. Other formal processes for addressing complaints include grade and transfer credit appeals.

Update (as of 6-11-12): As noted in a previous Portfolio submission, Owens employs various formal and informal methods to collect complaint information from students and other stakeholders. For the purposes of providing a more comprehensive response to the question, the term “complaint” is broadened to include an issue of concern for students, faculty, staff or a member of the campus community, in addition to a formal complaint. Depending on the involved parties, the complaint will be directed to a specific point person (see attached), who will manage the complaint process. For those seeking to report concerning behavior involving an individual or situation, an Incident Reporting Form is available electronically and accessible through the Owens home page. BCT serves as a central network focused on consultation and recommended course(s) of action in situations where members of the campus community are exhibiting concerning or maladaptive behaviors that may result in harmful, threatening, or disruptive conduct. The issue is triaged and categorized according to threat level, and a recommended course of action is determined. The individual submitting the report automatically receives a confirmation number, contact info for the Dean of Student Life, and is notified upon receipt of the report and the resolution of the issue. Additionally, BCT had produced a response protocol for helping students in distress. The Distressed Student Response Protocol is accessible in multiple locations on the web site. Individuals can also report student behavior that violates standards as listed in the Student Code of Conduct through the same reporting form, or through email, phone calls, or by visiting the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. The Dean of Student Life or Manager of Student Conduct will determine if charges will be filed and whether the charges may be resolved by way of administrative agreement (i.e., informal resolution). Terms of the agreement are developed by the Dean/Manager and agreed to by the accused student. When charges cannot be resolved by mutual consent of the accused student and Dean/Manager, the student will be informed of the hearing process and a formal student conduct hearing will be scheduled. Students are notified in writing of the outcome, while stakeholders are informed that the situation has reached

a resolution and provided with additional details when warranted (i.e., conditions for a student returning to class, etc.).

The Academic Appeal by Student procedure provides a student with the process of appeal in the event that a student disagrees with a course grade(s) issued by the college instructor or with an action taken within the teaching/learning process (excluding academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct issues). The process is as follows:

The student must initiate the appeal process by first discussing the action that is the source of the disagreement with the following college employees in the order listed below:

1. Course instructor 2. Chair of the department in which the course is offered

In the event that an acceptable resolution is not found through discussions with each of the above individuals, the student may file a formal appeal. Under certain circumstances, such as conflict of interest, the Dean may refer the case to an alternative review board at his or her discretion. The Non-Academic Appeal by Student procedure provides a student with an outlet when a student disagrees with a decision or action (excluding academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct issues) of an Owens Community College administrator, faculty, or staff member. The procedure is as follows:

The student must initiate the appeal process by first discussing the action that is the source of the disagreement with the following college employees in the order listed below:

1. Administrator, faculty, or staff member who made the decision 2. Immediate supervisor of the administrator, faculty, or staff member

In the event that an acceptable resolution is not found through discussions with each of the above individuals, the student may file a formal appeal. In certain circumstances, such as conflict of interest, the Associate Vice President may refer the case to an alternative review board at his or her discretion.

3R2. What are your performance results for student satisfaction?

Reviewers Feedback: OCC presents results from a student survey conducted by the TRIAD group which provides percentage student satisfaction statistics. Although 2004-2006 OCC graduates had high satisfaction rates with the OCC quality of education, instruction, courses, workforce preparation, and campus facilities, less than 50% of the respondents were satisfied with personal enrichment opportunities, career planning services, and job placement services. The most recent telephone survey of former OCC students showed that only 64% were very satisfied with their OCC experience and that only 74% would recommend OCC to family and friends. There is no insight or perspective from those students who may have dropped out.

In Progress

OCC Response: Student satisfaction is a required metric included in the 2010-2011 Program Review and Evaluation Manual for Instructional Programs. As such, student satisfaction is measured according to a research schedule. From 1997 - 2003, Owens conducted a student satisfaction survey biannually. In 2005, it was decided that instead of conducting the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory as we did from 1997 - 2003, Owens would participate in the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) pilot Adult Learner Inventory, a survey also developed by Noel Levitz for CAEL containing satisfaction items. The survey was conducted in Spring of 2006 and results were distributed to stakeholders. Student Satisfaction surveys are to resume as part of scheduled research conducted at Owens. The Institutional Survey Research Plan was posted to the Institutional Research Website during the Fall 2010 semester.

Additionally, more recent student polls have indicated higher levels of satisfaction with OCC than suggested here. The SSI survey feedback has higher levels of student satisfaction, and the annual Graduate Follow-Up study shows satisfaction levels among recent graduates in the 75%-80% range. An exit survey, administered to all graduates, is also the source of data about student satisfaction, but this has yet to be systematically analyzed by the College.

Student satisfaction has been historically low with Career Services. There is a perception among some students that Career Services is a “placement” office. To address these issues, Career Services is transitioning its marketing strategy emphasizing job assistance support. The Career Services office partners with CollegeCentral.com, a comprehensive, web-based job board and with the Collegiate Employ-Net consortium to improve its job fair offerings. The office has also hired additional personnel who specialize in career development to more fully assist students. In addition to offering more comprehensive assistance, the Career Services office continues to forge relationships with local employers and establish more intern/co-op programs for students in selected fields.

There is a process to formally collect information on why students don’t persist. “The Survey of Former Students at OCC”, a baseline survey conducted in February 2007, targeted non-returning students. The survey will be repeated on a regular schedule to track changes in the reasons students do not persist. In the baseline survey, former students were asked the reason they didn’t return, their overall satisfaction with Owens, as well as specific reasons for any reported dissatisfaction. Twenty-five percent of respondents indicated that it was a college or class-related reason for non-returning. The remaining 75% indicated that the reason they did not return was due to a personal situation, a job or financially related reason or that they transferred or had already graduated. The verbatim responses provided insight into why student did not return. A non-returning student survey is part of the proposed Institutional Survey Research that will be presented to President’s Cabinet in Fall 2010. Pending funding, it will be incorporated into the final survey schedule.

In addition, OCC has begun a student outreach program that telephones non-returners to ask them why they have not returned and about their views on the College. The reasons offered for not returning are stored in the Banner system. In the future, OCC plans to have a centralized repository for this data that can be used to aid in decision-making and the development of policy. Currently, such findings are gathered but there has been little formal processing of these.

3I1. What recent improvements have you made in this category? How systematic and comprehensive are your processes and performance results for Understanding Students’ and Other Stakeholders’ Needs?

Reviewers Feedback: OCC’s focus on students’ needs has yielded many student improvements such as the First Year Experience, a new student orientation process, new local high school partnerships, and the creation of a learning center in Toledo. This assortment of cited improvements results from the college’s involvement with the Title III grant and the restructuring of the AQIP council. Although OCC reports numerous partnerships and articulation agreements, the institution has few surveys or studies aimed at other stakeholders. A chart or table of these results and their frequency and actions taken would strengthen the statement about systematic improvement. More detail on the Foundations of Excellence Survey and the actions taken as a result of this survey would show how this information has informed relationship building with students.

Clarification In Progress OCC Response: OCC recognizes that it has many opportunities to administer surveys more comprehensively to its stakeholders and is beginning to move ahead with this directive. In 2011, a feasibility study was performed for OCC by The Clements Group. This was done as part of a planning summit and included Board members, corporate and community leaders from the area, administrators, faculty, and staff from OCC and a number of other summit participants. It gauged community views toward OCC and identified areas of strength

and weakness. The study led to a recommendation for the launching of a major gifts campaign targeted toward the private sector. Most recently, the community was invited in June 2012 to provide feedback and comments about OCC in preparation for the HLC review.

As part of the Title III Grant, a full assessment was made of the First Year experience courses; and such an assessment is planned for the mandatory new student orientation program started in Spring 2012.

In Fall 2009, four Quality teams were formed to explore the findings of FOE. These covered the following aspects of FOE:

FOE 1 worked to develop a comprehensive philosophy statement and clear learning outcomes throughout the College and within its curricula. It explored ways to successfully disseminate the philosophy and outcomes to students and other stakeholders

FOE 2 concerned itself with developing out-of-class activities to enhance students’ learning experience and to find a way to track students’ participation in such activities, including service learning opportunities and extracurricular activities such as special events. A student passport was developed that participants could get stamped for their participation. Awards were given at the end of the academic year for participants.

FOE 3 helped to improve services and information dissemination to first-year students through personal outreach, increased avenues of communication, and more structured new student orientation. As of Spring 2012, new student orientation is mandatory for all incoming freshmen.

FOE 4 explored the need for student counseling services to identify and meet the needs of students who may be facing personal or psychological problems. Steps are being taken at the current time to appoint a Director of Student Mental Health Services to oversee such a service.

CATEGORY 4 – VALUING PEOPLE

4P6. How do you design your work processes so they contribute both to organizational productivity and employee satisfaction?

Reviewers’ Feedback: There does not appear to be an institutional system in place that ensures consistency in the frequency and the structure of how work processes are evaluated. Despite HR’s support in offering professional development opportunities, design appears to be decentralized. The college needs to continue its efforts to promote an informed and standardized approach to work processes and to expectations for workplace productivity.

In Progress

OCC Response: An Associate Vice President of Organizational Development position was created and approved by Senior Administration. Subsequently, an Associate Vice President of Organizational Development was appointed in late 2011 as a step toward centralization of organizational development within the Department of Human Resources processes. This individual will be responsible for developing and implementing the College’s plans, policies, and programs designed to supporting the assessment of organizational needs and design. Additionally, the new position will develop a consistent system for evaluation of work processes.

OCC did not have one systemic approach to address consistency in various work processes. Previously Faculty Development was used – it is geared toward academic development opportunities, as the various academic departments may have different accreditation requirements, outlining department/function-specific training needs. Human Resources serves as consultants and a support to aid in review of employees, maximize

employee satisfaction, performance, and productivity while allowing autonomy in coordinating skill-specific training. Departments design work flow and individual “units”/work areas reflect the philosophy of the Higher Learning Commission. Training needs are evaluated based on what may work best in specific circumstances. With the creation of the Associate Vice President of Organizational Development position, this individual serves as a liaison with academics and faculty in determining processes for developing training opportunities.

Non-faculty-related areas may use College-established strategic plans to develop tactical plans for their departments, as well as review of department employee evaluations to establish training for staff. The Associate Vice President of Organizational Development will help provide information to ensure focus on work processes, productivity, and alignment with strategic plans.

Units/Departments are creating tactical plans which will vary by function, but are to be linked to overall College strategic plans.

The Department of Human Resources did collaborate with Institutional Research and Noel Levitz to evaluate employee satisfaction through the creation, distribution, and assessment of an employee satisfaction survey. The outcomes were shared during various Noel-Levitz presentations on the Toledo and Findlay campuses.

4P8b. How do you determine training needs? How do you align employee training with short and long-range organizational plans, and how does it strengthen your instructional and non-instructional programs and services?

Reviewers’ Feedback: OCC has several methods in place to determine training needs resulting in program training development which supports employee development and retention. It is not clear how training is aligned with organizational plans or how it strengthens programs.

Clarification

OCC Response: The Associate Vice President of Organizational Development was appointed in late 2011 and is responsible for developing and implementing the College’s plans, policies, and programs designed to support the assessment of organizational needs and the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs that facilitate the planning and implementation of professional development and continuous learning activities.

A faculty development committee was developed, which met regularly to discuss training initiatives. Training ideas that were not relevant to the departments or to the College as a whole were not pursued. Faculty, deans, and chairs were represented by this committee, providing a collaborative environment. There is currently a Human Resources presence on this committee, as the Associate Vice President of Organizational Development works collaboratively with the committee.

Non-faculty training is being developed based upon employee performance appraisals.

Further, the College has better documented how it is aligning College strategies and objectives with tactical functioning. Uniformity in using a SMART rubric has been instituted, which ensures actions taken are specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and relevant, and time-based.

4P11. How do you design your employee recognition, reward, compensation, and benefit systems to align with your objectives for both instructional and non-instructional programs and services?

Reviewers’ Feedback: It is unclear how OCC’s newly revamped evaluation system for its non-bargaining units is aligned with service. The initiative in including core values in the evaluation of some employees holds promise that performance may then be subsequently reflected in compensation.

Clarification

OCC Response: Currently, across-the-board increases in compensation to non-bargaining unit employees are dictated by Board approval and bargaining unit employee increases were determined by their respective contractual agreements. The Vice President of Human Resources will be reviewing the process for more direction in determining compensation via a compensation study. Currently, compensation is not pay-for-performance and is not tied to the evaluation of employees, but efforts have been made to ensure that department heads periodically review position descriptions for completeness and accuracy and that the compensation for these positions are equitably compensated.

4P13. How do you provide for and evaluate employee satisfaction, health and safety, and well-being?

Reviewers’ Feedback: Despite establishing a Wellness Committee and an assortment of policies, programs and benefits that promote the health and safety of its employees, OCC reports that a survey instrument is under development. In Progress – completed - ongoing

OCC Response: The Wellness Committee was disbanded after completion of its work and reporting of results. Periodic employee surveys are created through internal sources such as Institutional Research and externally through such unbiased sources as Noel-Levitz to gather information about various ad hoc issues. Recent surveys have dealt with such topics as employee satisfaction with HR, Employee recognition programs and methodologies, and energy conservation/compressed work week issues.

4R2. What are your performance results in valuing people?

Reviewers’ Feedback: OCC has successfully reduced the time to fill positions, maintained a low employee turnover rate, and integrated employee training into the workplace. While the institution has increased minority recruitment and hiring, its diversity efforts have not become an institution-wide process.

In Progress

OCC Response: Efforts within Human Resources have been made to encourage the hiring of minorities through placement of advertisements for new positions in minority-themed publications. Additionally, as part of the review of the search committee orientation process for those employees serving in this capacity, the opportunity for diversity is underscored. Also, the College has created an Office of Equal Opportunity and Inclusiveness. 4R3. What evidence indicates the productivity and effectiveness of your faculty, staff, and administrators in helping you achieve your goals?

Reviewers’ Feedback: OCC cites its favorable developments in enrollment, employee donations to its Foundation, and activity in its alumni association—all of which may have a relationship to staff and faculty productivity and effectiveness; however, the measures and results do not give the college the evidence that it needs to determine the adequacy of its performance and cannot be used to identify targets for improvement.

In Progress

OCC Response: Retiree perks are offered to Owens retirees to help maintain a positive relationship with the College. This group is also given the opportunity to maintain their association with OCC through the Foundation and the Alumni Association. An annual drive is sent to employees via direct mailings to encourage their support of the OCC Foundation.

Noel-Levitz was brought in to gauge employee satisfaction as well as student engagement. Findings from this external study are being used to identify areas for improvement.

Course efficiency is a required metric included in the 2010-2011 Program Review and Evaluation Manual for Instructional Programs (May 2010). Programs that are efficient have courses with a high percentage of seats filled and also have larger average class sizes. Course efficiency also is strongly associated with increased productivity of faculty. Trends for Course Productivity -Average Class Size and Course Productivity- Percent of Seats Filled are posted to the Institutional Research Website at https://www.owens.edu/ir/assess-prep.html. In addition, metrics for program effectiveness are included in the 2010-2011 Program Review and Evaluation Manual for Non-Instructional Programs (May 2010). Since Program Review for Non-Instructional Programs is still in its infancy at Owens, specific productivity metrics have yet to be developed. This will occur over the next two years.

4R4. How do your results for the performance of your processes for Valuing People compare with the performance results of other higher education institutions and, if appropriate, organizations outside of higher education?

Reviewers’ Feedback: OCC is limited to comparative data obtained within the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics; moreover, in the area of human resources, regional organizations may provide data from the private sector and the non-higher education public sector that can be used comparatively.

In Progress

OCC Response: The College serves as an active member of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC), which includes various levels of the College. Additionally, every three years, OCC completes an environmental scan to give administrators a comprehensive view of the environment in which it operates, including an overview of non-academic institutions in the area.

Administrators at OCC are active participants with Strategic Horizons and meet with this group periodically, where they compare their efforts with members from both academic and non-academic sectors to discuss best practices and learn from these groups.

4I1. What recent improvements have you made in this category? How systematic and comprehensive are your processes and performance results for Valuing People?

Reviewers’ Feedback: Improvements have been made in the self-comparison mode but nothing is reported in comparisons with others. Additionally, OCC has not demonstrated improvements in increasing diversity on campus.

In Progress

OCC Response: OCC acts as a key provider of information to the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC), which is used by other members of this group as benchmarks. Attendance at the meetings of OACC also gives Human Resources and other areas of the College the opportunity to share ideas and best practices with other members of the Ohio community college community.

In terms of diversity, OCC has created an Office of Equal Opportunity and Inclusiveness. The College has begun to track veterans’ status among its employees and has also sponsored international employees with certain Visa statuses, giving them an opportunity to work at OCC. OCC has also taken steps to assist these individuals in obtaining US citizenship.

CATEGORY FIVE – LEADING AND COMMUNICATING

PROCESSES 5P5. How do you make decisions in your organization? How do you use teams, task forces, groups, or committees to recommend or make decisions, and to carry them out? Reviewer’s Feedback: While multiple paths in decision making are evident, OCC’s development of its Shared Leadership Model is an approach with great opportunities for the incorporation of faculty and staff feedback, collaborative thinking and action, and consensus-building for major decisions; however, the process through which the Shared Leadership Model actually guides decision making is not clear.

Clarification OCC Response: There are several examples of the process for the Shared Leadership Model working, such as AQIP Planning Council and/or Quality Council reviewing the data, making informed decision based on the data, and implementing quality team recommendations (by sending to a department or creating a team to provide recommendations for improvement). All areas of the campus are represented on Quality Council, from maintenance workers to finance. One example of the process working extremely well was the Wellness quality team. Their recommendations required some funding. The QC voted to forward the funding request to the department of Finance/Budget and the Director of Budgeting was able to accommodate the funding request in support of the quality wellness initiative. Another example is the Print Solutions team still in progress. This team recently (September 2010) received President’s Cabinet approval (since it was not a quality team) to proceed with making cost-saving recommendations and for piloting a cost savings print solutions in the student computer laboratories for Summer 2011, with full implementation at the start of Fall Semester 2011. Update 10-7-2011 The shared leadership model at Owens Community College is extensive and is working well for the College. The model was designed to involve individuals from nearly all areas of the College to provide input into the strategic and implementation processes of the College. The Academic Planning Council (APC) and the Quality Council (QC) were born out of a collaborative effort of faculty, staff and administrators. The APC was created to do the planning function of the College while the QC was created to implement the strategic plans set by APC. The Quality Council utilized quality teams to identify processes and methods to implement the strategic plans. These quality teams have involved hundreds of employees from a variety of College departments. Through the creation of this model the College leadership has been able to create a clear strategic plan utilizing significant input from faculty, staff and students.

To illustrate the point, a recent quality team was charged with identifying what types of counseling support services are needed at Owens Community College. The team consisted of faculty, staff and administrators. The team spent a considerable amount of time researching and benchmarking what counseling services other colleges provide. Their recommendation included a phased-in approach with cost justification. The team presentation provided adequate information to allow the QC an opportunity to either approve or disapprove the team’s recommendation. Once the decision to support the recommendation was made, the QC made sure the implementation of the project took place. 5P10. How do your leaders and board members ensure that your organization maintains and preserves its mission, vision, values, and commitment to high performance during leadership succession? How do you develop and implement your leadership succession plans?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC does not have a formal succession plan; however, with its several programs for leadership development (such as the Owens Leadership Academy) and the efforts that its HR department has in progress for the assessment of positions, there is an opportunity for the college to develop this critical plan.

Opportunity In Progress OCC Response: The Human Resource Department continues to develop and implement the foundation of an integrated, strategic HR system. The overall strategy in the development of the system is to ensure that the "modules" of talent acquisition, development, evaluation, and rewards are aligned and work together to ensure the organization reaches its goals. In addition, the core values of the institution are embedded in the system; that is, during the hiring process, HR uses assessment tools to identify those candidates who have similar core values (behavioral interviewing techniques). In addition OCC invests in development of leaders from within via the Owens Leadership Academy. HR provides a consistent onboarding experience that assists in orienting and reinforcing the mission, vision, and values of the institution, which are then reinforced through the performance evaluation system. Now that a substantial foundation has been built, it will be possible for the HR department to pursue a more formal succession plan that is based on identification of individuals with core values and commitment to the institution consistent with Owens' overall mission and vision.

Update 10-7-2011

The Human Resources Department has been working towards the total integration of the mission, vision and core values at the College. As stated in the earlier response, the HR department has built into their orientation and performance evaluations information related to the College’s core values, mission and vision.

Succession planning for the College has not been developed at this time. Changes in Human Resources leadership have delayed the implementation of the program. The College has recently undergone an organizational structure change and has identified a position of Associate Vice President of Organizational Development to address the development of the succession plan. This position will also be responsible for the further integration of the mission, vision and core values into other HR procedures and practices. The anticipated timeline to fill the position is fall 2011.

RESULTS

5R1. What performance measures of Leading and Communicating do you collect and analyze regularly?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC has developed several key processes and products (such as its environmental scanning report, enrollment opportunity report, Score Card publication, and communications/marketing reports) and uses the resulting information for planning and improvement on a regular basis. Although several measures are collected and analyzed, it is unclear how these may be aligned with performance in Leading and Communicating.

Opportunity In Progress OCC Response: A team will be convened to identify specific metrics that OCC will use to measure leadership and communication. Each metric should be clearly defined and the rationale/purpose of collecting the metric should be stated. Consideration should be given to indicators that have higher education as well as non-education benchmarks. Peer groupings should also be defined for comparison.

Update 10-7-2011

The College has developed several ways to communicate with its employees, as stated in the reviewer’s feedback. The College also conducted an Employee Satisfaction Survey administered by Noel Levitz in the Spring of 2011 to identify areas of strength and areas in need of improvement. The Human Resources department will be further analyzing the information and developing a plan to address the areas of concern as they relate to leading and communicating.

The Department of Organizational Performance and Accountability has conducted several infrastructure surveys and quality program profile surveys to the members of Quality Council, AQIP Planning Council, the strategy forum team, and others.

These surveys inquire about communication, leadership, and quality - both in efficiency and effectiveness terms. A follow-up series of the same surveys will be done in the spring of 2012 to use as a measure of how the college has improved percentagewise compared to the first series. This is a direct alignment with performance in leading and communicating.

The nature of the leadership model has positional representation on both AQIP Planning Council and Quality Council. This constitutes approximately 55 members from across the college infrastructure. They meet each month and each member is charged with taking the information shared at these meetings back to their constituencies. This is yet another way the college has expanded its leading and communicating efforts.

Over the last 18 months, the college has introduced an AQIP BLOG on our intranet which is available to all 1700 employees. We utilize this media to communicate high-level initiatives like this new strategic plan, and organizational changes to the college- seeking comments and feedback. While still in the growth stage, this is yet another method the college has implemented to improve performance in leading and communicating.

5R2. What are your results for leading and communicating processes and systems?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC presents several examples of how data has informed institutional decision making and points to some positive results achieved in HR and in how communications and marketing may impact enrollment. There is an opportunity for OCC to directly link its results to its performance measures and to share these findings in its Portfolio.

Opportunity In Progress OCC Response: Once the metrics are identified by the team mentioned in the response to 5R1, these will be linked to results to share in the next portfolio. When completed the college will provide a link to the Noel-Levitz reporting.

R3. How do your results for the performance of your processes for Leading and Communicating compare with the performance results of other higher education organizations and, if appropriate, of organizations outside of higher education?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC participates in the Strategic Horizons initiative. This collaboration may give OCC the ability to demonstrate how its results compare to those of other institutions; however, the Portfolio conveys no information with regard to peer comparisons.

Opportunity In Progress

OCC Response: Once the metrics are identified by the team mentioned in the response to 5R1, Owens performance results can be compared to peer institutions.

Update 10-7-2011

The Noel Levitz Employee satisfaction Survey has been administered and its results are being communicated to the college. This was an extensive survey with benchmarks built into the assessment tools for comparison purposes. This information will be critical to the Human Resources department to determine how Owens Community College compares to institutions of similar size and composition.

IMPROVEMENT 5I2. How do your culture and infrastructure help you to select specific processes to improve and to set targets for improved performance results in Leading and Communicating? Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC has developed structures such as the APC and the Shared Leadership Model that create opportunities for the institution to develop processes that will identify areas for improvement and set targets for intended results. The college has self-identified that a PACE survey could be used to give additional guidance for this process when it is developed. In Progress OCC Response: Surveys targeting staff and faculty are conducted and now posted to the Institutional Research website https://www.owens.edu/ir/research-reports.html. A personal assessment of the college environment (PACE), typically referred to as an organizational climate and employee engagement survey, is part of the Institutional Survey Research Plan. The PACE or similar survey produced by Noel-Levitz will be proposed to President’s Cabinet during their Fall 2010 schedule of meetings for a request of funding. Pending funding, the PACE will be administered in 2011. The results will be shared with the HLC before the next cycle. Update: In Spring 2011, Owens engaged Noel-Levitz to conduct an Employee Satisfaction Survey, an instrument that has been reviewed by accreditation and industry experts including AQIP, HLC, and the National Community College Benchmark Project. Areas measured included campus culture and policies, work environment, institutional goals, and involvement in planning. Results were obtained in June 2011 and are currently being disseminated throughout the organization via open forums and posting of results to the web. Priorities for improvement are being identified. The next step is the assignment of improvement teams to address the identified priorities.

CATEGORY SIX – SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS PROCESSES 6P4. How do you manage your key student, administrative and organizational support service processes on a day-to-day basis to ensure that they are addressing the needs you intended them to meet?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC reports that it tracks feedback and monitors its processes in this area, but it does not describe these processes and systems. Leaders meet periodically to manage key support service processes. An opportunity exists to create a support/customer service model with associated training.

In Progress OCC Response: Student, administrative and organizational support service processes are managed on a day to day basis by program directors or supervisors who are responsible for providing services that meet the vision, values and strategic plans of the College. Individual accountability is monitored through annual performance appraisals. Departmental accountability is monitored by goals established in the strategic plan and various other departmental and collegial results. Communication between departments takes place at many cross-functional teams at the College. These include President’s Council, Provost’s Council, CFO’s Weekly Staff meetings, Chairs Council, Budget Advisory Council, AQIP Planning Council, Quality Council and departmental meetings. Services are often improved on the basis of data gathered informally through input from students, faculty and staff. The College encourages individuals to suggest improvements through surveys regarding services, focus groups, open forum meetings for information sharing and discussion and an open attitude to suggestions.

An example of this is the Oserve structure, which was implemented in 2010. The systems and processes are a work in progress. The purpose of the Oserve office is to provide customer service for the areas of Records and Registration, Financial Aid, and Student Accounts (formerly Bursar). The Oserve Advocates provide feedback to the Director of Oserve regarding potential problems in processes or communication based on the volume of questions or concerns that students have during their interaction with the Advocates. This information is shared with the Director of Student Accounts, Registrar, Dean of Student Services, and Associate Director of Financial Aid. In addition, the Oserve office has completed a survey of its staff to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. A similar process was completed with the Office of Financial Aid staff. The leadership in the various offices also monitors the processing backlog to identify areas in need of improvement. OCC has been approached by another Ohio college to learn about the student service model. RESULTS 6R1. What measures of student, administrative, and organizational support service processes do you collect and analyze regularly? Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC reports that it collects information relating to various student applications, that its offices receive and that its supervisors analyze. The measures cited need to be clearly presented. There is no insight into the type of data collected and how it is analyzed. Clarification OCC Response: Various data is collected and analyzed to determine the College’s success in maintaining affordable tuition and fees and necessary services for students. The College tracks FTE enrollment daily, in comparison to the prior year semester and year to date. Tuition and fee revenues, state subsidy revenues, fund balances, and performance against budget in total by line item and by department are analyzed on a monthly basis. Tuition and fees in relation to our peers (other like-size community colleges), safety and security statistics, utility expense and energy conservation and space utilization are analyzed yearly. Information about student enrollment is collected and reported out on a daily basis and includes type of student, demographic information, credit hours enrolled, and program/major information. This is used throughout the registration period as an overview of levels of enrollment and provides information used in planning. The Registrar regularly analyzes enrollment, reviewing the enrollment across the campuses and learning sites. Particular attention is given to students who attend the Toledo campus and also attend classes at The Source Learning Center – reviewing which courses are taken where and where he student lives in relation to the two locations. The Bursar analyzes enrollment, reviewing the enrollment, determining the number and percentage of students who are paying (collections), how they are paying (out-of-pocket, financial aid, scholarship, employer, etc), and if the individual is current on their account or in arrears. The unpaid accounts are classified as to number of days in arrears for consideration of being dropped for non-payment. The Financial Aid Office monitors the number of FAFSA forms that are on file as well as the number of appeals, verification of information, and amount of aid paid out to students on a regular (usually monthly) basis. RESULTS 6R2. What are your performance results for student support service processes?

Reviewer’s Feedback: While the Portfolio cites two results that demonstrated enhanced business efficiency, thorough measures of support service processes need to be clearly presented. There is no evidence of a systematic approach to collecting and reporting results.

Opportunity

OCC Response: In February 2011, Owens entered into a partnership with Noel-Levitz to analyze and improve Owens’ retention, recruiting and marketing practices and develop a strategic enrollment plan (SEP). Once the SEP is completed, the College will use performance against these targets and goals and student satisfaction surveys to measure success and identify and address improvement opportunities. The OCC budget is created based upon FTE projections, which provide a clear target for this budgetary planning. In 2012, the College began to identify key performance indicators related to the fulfillment of various aspects of the OCC mission, such as access, fiscal health, student progress, and developmental education. Each metric provides baseline data and expected standards and goals. These metrics are currently under development, but once complete, will be reviewed annually to ensure that measurable improvements are being made in the fulfillment of the College’s mission.

RESULTS 6R3. What are your performance results for administrative support service processes?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC states that the true measure for (administrative support) processes is the increase in semester enrollment and the number of students retained. These are clearly critical end of game measures, but they lack the nuance and detail needed for OCC to identify its problems and successes. Developing measures that directly align with the specific administrative support services will enhance the quality improvement process.

In Progress OCC Response: Measures for administrative support services include financial ratio analysis in comparison to prior years and to our peers, full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment, tuition and fees in comparison to other Ohio state community colleges, tuition and fee income, state subsidy revenues, annual utility expense and energy conservation and space utilization. The Oserve structure was implemented in 2010 and continues to be in progress. Oserve tracks the number of student contacts that are made on a monthly basis (by phone, email, and in person). For financial aid, certain statistics are tracked on a monthly basis, including the total amount of financial aid awarded and disbursed, the number of financial aid verifications completed per month, and the number of financial aid applications received. This type of data gathering will be expanded to the other areas that support the registration and account needs of the students to provide better efficiencies. Through Noel-Levitz partnering, Connections Now training has been offered for OCC personnel to help improve the culture of customer service. The training and dialogue that has emerged from this project has been instrumental in identifying areas of weakness and addressing them. 6R4. How do your key student, administrative, and organizational support areas use information and results to improve their services?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC has not detailed its process for using its results to improve services covered under this category. A written, more formal process for using information collected to improve services could better institutionalize the change process and its improvement.

In Progress OCC Response: The Oserve structure was implemented in 2010 and continues to be in progress. Prior to the creation of the Oserve office to handle the responsibility of customer service, the staff of the Office of Financial Aid were responsible for both customer service and processing. Since peak periods of demand for both customer service and processing tend to occur simultaneously, the ability to process students’ accounts in a timely manner was diminished due to the time devoted to customer service, while students tended to make multiple contacts with the office because of delays in processing. Now that Oserve is responsible for customer service, the Office of Financial Aid is able to more clearly identify areas in which additional staffing may be needed in order to improve processing time. As a result, some staff members have begun the process of cross-training so that there are additional staff members available to perform processing tasks in the high-demand areas. As Oserve continues to develop and mature, the processes and data gathering will be expanded to the other areas that support the registration and account needs of the students to provide better efficiencies. Additionally, quality management teams are formed to look into problems and make recommendations to Quality Control and AQIP Councils to improve processes throughout the College. The teams use data-driven methodologies to study problems and make recommendations for their improvement. 6R5. How do your results for the performance of your processes for Supporting Organizational Operations compare with the performance results of other higher education organizations and, if appropriate, of organizations outside of higher education?

Reviewer’s Feedback: Despite reporting that it conducts surveys of other higher education institutions concerning customer service, student support and administrative support services, there is no comparative benchmarking information provided.

Opportunity In Progress OCC Response: Financial ratio scores and a recent tuition and fee comparison are shown below. Financial Ratio Scores 2007 2008 2009 2010 Viability 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 Net Income 3.0 3.0 2.0 5.0 Primary Reserve 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 Composite Score 3.6 3.6 3.4 4.0 Average Composite Score of State Community Colleges 3.72 3.48 3.67 3.88

Full-time Tuition and Fees 2009-2010 2010-2011 Increase % Increase

Owens State Community College

3,584

3,749 165 4.60%

State Community College Average

3,466

3,598 132 3.95% In February 2011, Owens entered into a partnership with Noel-Levitz to analyze and improve Owens’ retention and recruiting and marketing practices and to develop a strategic enrollment plan (SEP). Once the SEP is completed, the College will use performance against these targets and goals and

student satisfaction surveys to measure success and compare Owens’ results to those of our peers and to national averages. As Oserve continues to develop and mature, the processes and data gathering will be expanded to the other areas that support the registration and account needs of the students to provide better efficiencies. In addition, data will be collected from other institutions for benchmarking. 6I2. How do your culture and infrastructure help you to select specific processes to improve and to set targets for improved performance results in Supporting Organizational Operations?

Reviewer’s response: Although the end results documented in 6I1 are impressive, it is still not apparent how OCC systematically selects its targets for improvement. Clarification OCC Response: OCC Shared Leadership Model assists in selecting specific processes for improvement. Suggestions are provided by students, faculty, administration, and staff via comment cards and on-line suggestion forms. Suggestions are forwarded to the Director of Organizational Performance & Accountability. If the suggestion is someone’s job – it is forwarded to that employee’s supervisor. If the suggestion belongs in a specific department – it is forwarded to that department’s supervisor/Chair. Departments have also formed their own quality teams to improve departmental processes for efficiencies. If the suggestion does not fall into the first two areas, it is taken to the Quality Council for consideration. The Quality Council has the option to create a new quality team or request additional data. The Quality Council votes on which suggestions fit best with the College’s strategic plan and should move forward with a trainer and a champion as quality teams. The Executive Vice President/Chief Fiscal Officer is a member of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges fiscal officers and through this forum, best practices and collaborations are discussed, with an emphasis on advancing state-wide efficiencies. Many of the examples provided in the original response were selected target areas of improvement due to the involvement that OCC administrators have in state-wide associations.

CATEGORY SEVEN – MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS PROCESSES 7P3. How do you determine the needs of your departments and units related to the collection, storage, and accessibility of data and performance information? Reviewer’s Feedback: Needs are determined at the department and unit levels. Although IR, ITS, and Finance support departments with technical assistance, some units maintain their own databases. The decentralized approach used by OCC may not lead to the standardization of measures and research methodologies that are needed to produce consistent and reliable data for quality improvement systems. Clarification OCC Response: Data that is currently stored in the Banner System include Student, Human Resource, Finance, Financial Aid, Accounts Receivable and Alumni records. Auxiliary databases exist for plant maintenance, parking, security/public safety, student conduct, and tutoring. The College’s Information Technology Services assesses auxiliary software packages and to the best extent possible, implements software that is compatible with Banner to enhance data flow, collection and reporting. So to a large extent, data is centralized. To enhance consistency in reporting, Owens has purchased the Operational Data Store (ODS) from SunGard. A multidisciplinary team composed of staff from Information Technology Services and Institutional Research as well as other end users has been formed to oversee implementation, which is expected to take about two years. Departmental data needs will be identified as part of this project for incorporation into the ODS. Data will be centralized with queries written to extract data for departmental reporting and use. A data dictionary will be produced to ensure standardization of definitions. Data integrity issues will also be

identified and resolved as part of this project. The ODS will enable reports to be generated based on real-time transactional data. Once the ODS installation is complete and functioning, the feasibility for implementing an Enterprise Data Warehouse will be assessed. Since the EDW looks at snapshot data for trending rather than transactional data, this would be an opportunity to produce reports that track and compare identified performance indicators over time. In the meantime, all official numbers are generated by Institutional Research (IR). Key indicators for program review and performance are posted to the website. Update In addition to the effort to centralize data described above, in January 2011, OCC engaged Noel-Levitz to facilitate the development of a strategic enrollment plan. The following topics are addressed in the plan: Student Enrollment, Fiscal Health, Student Quality, Student Progress, and Program Quality. As part of the strategic enrollment planning effort, a retention plan was developed and a recruitment plan is currently being prepared. These plans contain goals, quantifiable strategies, and metrics to monitor progress toward strategy accomplishment. This planning process is driving the enrollment related data that is collected, reported, and analyzed. The identification of datasets and the research protocols to acquire the data are now to a large extent centralized as a result of the planning process. Over the summer, in response to the need to gather and report identified data sets; many new comparison reports were developed and are regularly distributed to key personnel involved in the initiative. In addition, some existing reports were revised to improve comprehension and user friendliness. New or improved reports include Enrollment by School, Department & Major, Direct from High School Admissions Report, Non-traditional Admissions Report, Enrollment Summary Report, and Enrollment Detail Report.

RESULTS 7R2. What is the evidence that your system for Measuring Effectiveness meets your organization’s needs in accomplishing its mission and goals? Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC cites various reports as evidence that it is meeting its organizational needs, goals and mission. OCC’s website backup for this category lists many reports and results, but the linkage to mission and goals described in the response is not apparent. Many (if not all) of the cells identified as “evidence” have restricted access and could not be accessed for the purposes of this review. When OCC reissues its Portfolio, it should strive to contain its important descriptions and results within the confines of the Portfolio template and guidelines provided by the Commission. Completed OCC Response: All evidence is now posted to the internet under Institutional Research.(Checkup visit team to meet with category seven portfolio team during the visit August 2012). RESULTS 7R3. How do your results for the performance of your processes for Measuring Effectiveness compare with the results of other higher education organizations and, if appropriate, of organizations outside of higher education?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC cites the use of reports to monitor effectiveness and benchmark itself against other higher education institutions and industries outside of higher education. Despite providing an overview of such processes, minimal information is provided regarding how the institution compares with other organizations within and outside higher education. OCC continues to face challenges with technologies for adult learners. Opportunity OCC Response: The team identified under 5R1 would also determine key effectiveness indicators and benchmarks to be tracked. These benchmarks will include metrics used within higher education as well as those across industries external to higher education. Once the indicators are determined, a specific data collection plan will be created and implemented. Comparisons will be made annually. Reports will be distributed to key stakeholders and posted to the web. When selecting metrics to be monitored, preference will be given to indicators with benchmark capability.

Update: To determine key effectiveness indicators and benchmarks to be tracked, OCC partnered with Noel-Levitz and a several teams were created dealing with Student Enrollment, Fiscal Health, Student Quality, Student Progress, and Program Quality. The planning process highly encourages stakeholder participation. Preference is being given to indicators with benchmark capability. Once the planning process completed and these institution-wide KPIs are finalized, data collection will commence. Data to be gathered will incorporate institutional as well as benchmark data from state, national, and cross-industry sources. Comparisons will be made on a regular schedule with frequency of reports yet to be determined. Reports will be distributed to key stakeholders and posted to the web.

CATEGORY EIGHT – PLANNING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESSES 8P3. How do you develop key action plans to support your organizational strategies?

Reviewer’s Feedback: As this process matures, OCC will need to monitor the number of submissions that are actually implemented to determine if its goals for stakeholder access and participation are being met. Additionally, it is not clear how leaders develop action plans to address strategies. Opportunity/In Progress (part B) OCC Response: This response is broken down into part A and part B. The reviewer determined part A was a (S) strength. The response to the opportunity identified in part B actually reflects the process defined in the Shared Leadership Model. The OCC response to this opportunity (8P3B) is as follows. The Provost has started an initiative in which all departments and schools are asked to complete a tactical plan that will align and engage with the strategic plan initiatives. This process will offer a foundation for successful implementation of the strategic plan which was restructured and approved by the Board of Trustees on September 13, 2011. The newly restructured edition of the strategic plan will be rolled out to the institution. College leaders will develop action plans to address these tactical and organizational level strategies. This will allow for a bottom up, results-driven, successful organizational strategic plan. The Provost has identified the department of organizational performance and accountability to monitor this process. 8P6. How do you link strategy selection and action plans, taking into account levels of current resources and future needs?

Reviewer’s Feedback: While the college has created a budget pool for the purposes of advancing continuous quality improvement activities, neither the extent of this resource nor the processes that determine allocation and expenditures are detailed. Clarification OCC Response: OCC has allocated a budget pool of $75,000 per fiscal year toward continuous quality improvement. There is an opportunity to request further funding from general institutional funds should a project need arise through the continuous quality improvement activities. The processes that determine allocation and expenditures are detailed in other parts of the portfolio. The AQIP Planning Council and the Quality Council (through the shared leadership model) determine through the data provided by quality teams which action projects will be implemented and funded. Both councils are populated by a cross section of the College, with every school, department and area represented. Teams researching a continuous quality improvement project are to research and estimate any cost savings and/or expenses related to their recommendations, along with potential return on investments. Each quality team reports out the research they've done to one of the councils, and their recommendations determine what is necessary for completion and who should implement the project. The council’s vote electronically and anonymously as to whether to accept these recommendations. Both councils’ budget/financial representative assists in implementing the requested funding through the established budget approval process. This new shared leadership model allows College stakeholders to have a voice in helping OCC align and engage with the strategic plan, the AQIP criteria, and the statewide University System of Ohio strategic plan for higher education.

8P7. How do you assess and address risk in your planning processes? Reviewer’s Feedback: Risk assessment processes are very informal and at a rudimentary stage. OCC has the opportunity to develop a process that will assign risk determination to the appropriate institutional levels and provide a procedure that uses a consistent methodology to assess situations. By standardizing risk assessment, OCC will achieve more reliable results and will be better able to build a consensus that supports those findings.

In Progress OCC Response: OCC’s original response to 8P7 was too brief to properly describe how OCC assesses risk. In the current five-year strategic plan, OCC has completed 263 action steps (as of February 2010). Because of the subjective and intangible nature of many of the various action steps, it benefits OCC to assess the risk of each project on a case-by-case basis. Each quality team has a workbook and is challenged with the task of providing data, comparisons to other colleges, benchmarking, outcomes, cost and potential funding, as well as consulting the environmental scan, and determining the nature, scope, and depth of the risk involved for each project. The plan now is, based on this review, to identify the formal risk assessment in the standard operating procedures manual for continuous quality improvement. RESULTS 8R1. What measures of the effectiveness of your planning processes and systems do you collect and analyze regularly? Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC is clearly progressing in its developing efforts to identify, collect, and analyze measures that relate to the effectiveness of its planning systems. It is training teams in data collection and analysis, and it has contracted with a known consultant to provide guidance; however, it does not appear that the institution is able to identify measures for the effectiveness of its planning efforts at this time. OCC has invested considerable resources in its planning systems and has created other processes that hinge on the effectiveness of that planning. Moving quickly to develop its measures, apply and analyze those measures, and determine needed improvements will facilitate the continuous improvement process with regard to planning. In Progress OCC Response: OCC has reviewed its measures to identify the effectiveness of planning as well as operational systems. The outcome of the response to this review has been a reorganization of institutional research and the department of organizational performance and accountability. Institutional research as identified in category 7 continues to facilitate many measures of effectiveness as identified in the portfolio. Under this reorganizational plan, institutional research will report to the Executive Director of Organizational Performance and Accountability. This will allow the two areas to work together in assessing the effectiveness of organizational planning. This will be done through various methods including surveys, return on investment, student retention, student satisfaction, student success/completion, as well as yearly reviews of all the completed projects to ensure continued compliance, and demonstrated continued reliability of the implemented action steps. 8R3. What are your projections or targets for performance of your strategies and action plans over the next 1-3 years?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC has not yet identified targets for the next 1-3 years and reports that it will use the Systems Appraisal Feedback Report, in part, to identify new action projects. As important as the Feedback Report can be, OCC has many other sources of data, feedback, and insight that should be routinely used to set future targets—especially performance targets keyed to its strategic plan. Opportunity/In Progress OCC Response: OCC has also identified the need to have an exit strategy for the strategic plan which would indicate performance targets to be met. Under the Provost’s plan for 2010, OCC has started an initiative in which all departments and schools will develop tactical plans that will in turn align and engage with the

strategic plan initiatives, annual targets and benchmarks. This process will offer a foundation for successful implementation of the new strategic plan, which was approved by the Board of Trustees on September 13, 2011. This will allow for a bottom-up, results-driven, successful organizational strategic plan. OCC has identified the department of organizational performance and accountability to monitor this process. The new plan has four clearly defined strategic initiatives: Focus on Enrollment and Student Success; Foster Organizational Vitality; Promote Institutional Advancement; and Foster and Enhance the Delivery of Educational Services. Additionally, OCC has formed a relationship with Noel-Levitz, a recognized leader in higher education consulting, to facilitate our plan to strengthen student success, assisting the college in creating a comprehensive retention plan and a strategic enrollment plan. The college has identified in the new strategic plan not only an exit strategy, but measurables, key performance indicators, smart action step training, timelines, and milestones, all which was missing from the first strategic plan. This will allow for a more refined and accurate process as we evolve through the living document. See "Strategies for the Future-the College of Choice 2014". 8R4. How do your results for the performance of your processes for Planning Continuous Improvement compare with the performance results of other higher education organizations and, if appropriate, of organizations outside of higher education? Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC reports that it is comparable to other higher education organizations and asserts that its four-year results (presumably as an AQIP institution) are superior to comparable colleges. However, the institution cites no data or other documentation that may point to these results or provide other nuance to the college’s comparative outcomes in this Category. Such comparison is essential for OCC to gauge its effectiveness, self-assure that its processes are delivering the desired results—and very importantly—to set appropriate targets for improvement. In Progress OCC Response: OCC continues to be a leader in the state of Ohio in collaborating with many of Ohio’s 20 AQIP-accredited community colleges. The original response to 8R4 was too brief due to space restrictions to give a total and true picture of how OCC compares to other higher education organizations. In response to this review, institutional research is providing more data to show the comparable measures. The Noel Levitz Employee satisfaction Survey has been administered and its results are being communicated to the college. This was an extensive survey with benchmarks built into the assessment tools for comparison purposes. This information will be critical to the Human Resources department to determine how Owens Community College compares to institutions of similar size and composition. From an intangible or subjective measure, the AVP of assessment accreditation continues to lead and facilitate the Ohio AQIP coalition. In this collaboration 20 AQIP accredited colleges in Ohio share best practices and lessons learned. This coalition meets two times a year. As facilitator of these meetings Owens is consistently asked to share many of its programs and processes to peer institutions who wish to take their quality journey to a higher level. Owens has been asked to come into another Ohio AQIP institution and train their black belt trainers, utilizing the proven success methods that the peer institution has recognized as an opportunity to gain more inclusiveness, collaboration, trust, and involvement within their own college using our methods. These are just some of the subjective ways OCC reports that its CQI program is not only comparable to other higher education organizations but even superior to many. OCC for the fifth year in a row continues to be accepted at the higher learning commission annual meeting to present its best practices. In this most recent year alone there were 450 proposal submitted, and only 150 accepted, of which Owens was one of them. Another intangible measure of a benchmark institution. RESULTS 8R5. What is the evidence that your system for Planning Continuous Improvement is effective? How do you measure and evaluate your planning processes and activities?

Reviewer’s Feedback: The Portfolio indicates neither a process for measuring the effectiveness of deployed planning systems nor results from such systems. As noted in 8R1 above, it is critical that the institution move on this opportunity as soon as possible. Opportunity/In Progress OCC Response: OCC has reviewed its measures identifying the effectiveness of planning as well as operational systems. The outcome of the response has been a reorganization of Institutional Research and the Department of Organizational Performance and Accountability. Institutional Research, as identified in AQIP systems portfolio in category 7, continues to facilitate many measures of effectiveness as identified in the portfolio. Under this reorganizational plan, Institutional Research will report to the Executive Director of Organizational Performance and Accountability. This will allow the two areas to work together in assessing the effectiveness of organizational planning. This will be done through various methods, including surveys, return on investment, student retention, student satisfaction, and student success/completion, as well as yearly reviews of all the completed projects to ensure continued compliance, and demonstrated continued reliability of the implemented action steps. Under the Provost’s plan for 2010, Owens Community College has started an initiative in which all departments and schools will develop a complete tactical plan that will in turn align engage with the strategic plan initiatives, with annual targets and benchmarks. The college has developed the “Return on Investment” document (see link) which helps to measure tangible and intangible continuous quality improvements and allow metrics and measurement, both from original control points internally as well as measure against other colleges externally. The college is measuring its continuous quality improvement process for effectiveness by proctoring a Higher Learning Commission quality survey to its shared leadership constituencies each year. Institutional Research will provide online data packs that will be stored in an electronic data warehouse on our Banner intranet system for internal use by all constituencies. These constituencies have been surveyed to identify what information they need to be successful in their operational planning. This has been a team effort involving all areas of OCC for input as to what their needs are for information and data.

AQIP CATEGORY 9: BUILDING COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS

9P2. How do you create, prioritize, and build relationships with the educational organizations and other organizations from which you receive your students?

Reviewer’s Feedback: While Advisory committees provide input on department curricula as well as the college's programmatic responsiveness to community and business needs, the Portfolio does not indicate that there is an institution-wide process for the establishment and utilization of advisory committees.

In Progress

OCC Response: There is currently no College-wide process for the establishment and utilization of advisory committees. These are handled at present within each program and department, where administrators garner long-term relationships with professionals in their own fields. OCC recognizes that benefits could be realized by having a centralized process under the control of a single coordinator.

9P3. How do you create, prioritize, and build relationships with the educational organizations and employers that depend on the supply of your students and graduates that meet those organizations’ requirements?

Reviewer’s Feedback: Despite citing some examples of outreach collaborative efforts with some external organizations, there does not appear to be an institutional system in place. In Progress

OCC Response: The Arrowhead Park location has taken steps to develop strong relationships with local businesses. Members of WCS staff sit on local economic improvement boards, taking an active part in making recommendations for the future. A sales team has been established to reach out to local businesses and develop opportunities for offering training to their workers, as well as developing co-ops, internships, and apprenticeships for Owens’ students.

Local businesses will make suggestions to changes in the curriculum, which WCS funnels to the deans and chairs of the academic programs. Also, businesses typically seek out WCS to help recruit trained workers. Such requests are sent to Career Services, providing additional resources to OCC students.

Examples of relationships forged between WCS and local businesses include the Northwest Ohio Planning Group, which has asked OCC to host a conference, allowing for stronger brand awareness and relationships among local business leaders. Recently, the local business First Solar has strengthened its partnership with OCC, donating equipment to help in OCC’s training of students in solar panel installation and usage.

9P5. How do you create, prioritize, and build relationships with the education associations, external agencies, consortia partners, and the general community with whom you interact?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC has developed an impressive research agenda that will help it prioritize relationships with businesses, the community and educational partners. These inputs are used by college leaders for planning purposes, but the exact processes are unspecified.

Clarification OCC Response: The College conducts environmental scans every three years that suggest possibilities of gaps that need to be filled. When a need is recognized, data is gathered via surveys, discussions with advisory committees, or meetings with community leaders and action is suggested based on these data. For example, when studies indicated that the Arrowhead Park area in Southwest Toledo had no outlet for training the many individuals who work there, the Arrowhead Learning Center was opened to meet this need. Likewise, the underserved public in downtown Toledo was reached by opening The Source. When alternate energy industries such as First Solar were opened locally, OCC consulted its executives to establish an alternative energy program to provide employees to the firm. Before launching a new program, OCC sends out a needs assessment survey to local businesses and potential hirers within a given discipline. 9P7. How do you create and build relationships between and among departments and units within your organization? How do you assure integration and communication across these relationships?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC is promoting collaboration as a key value and cites quality teams as one vehicle for this collaboration. There is an opportunity for OCC to go beyond espousing the value of collaboration and creating quality teams. Training and rewarding multi-departmental improvements would help assure integration and communication across units. In Progress

OCC Response: Quality Teams are assembled from different departments so that many areas of expertise may be present on a given team as it works to identify and improve processes for the College. Recently, Connections Now training was offered to employees across many departments and disciplines to improve customer service. In 2012, AQIP awards were given to interdisciplinary teams where employees from several different departments had worked together. Additionally, an Associate Vice President of Organizational Development was appointed to oversee employee training and improve the flow of communication and knowledge across all departments.

9R1. What measures of building collaborative relationships, external and internal, do you collect and analyze regularly?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC surveys students and reports that it frequently surveys its external partners concerning their needs. The response does not indicate what is encompassed in these results, how they are analyzed, or how they are used to improve institutional collaboration. Clarification OCC Response: Needs assessment surveys are conducted before new programs are launched. Local businesses are polled about their hiring of workers in a given discipline and their future plans for hiring to ensure that there is a market for the graduates of the proposed program. Results of these surveys are used to demonstrate need in the proposal for the new program to the Ohio Board of Regents. Additionally, program advisory committees, made up of industry members, work with academic departments to keep them apprised of industry trends and recommend changes to curriculum, instruction, or program design.

OCC contracted with Noel-Levitz in early 2011 to conduct an academic program demand study, which included a review of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, occupational databases, and IPEDS data to identify the need for programs in high demand occupations. Potential employers and students in both the Toledo and Findlay areas were then surveyed to determine local job demand and potential program enrollment. Results from this research have been used by deans, department chairs, and faculty in the planning and proposal development of new academic programs, including our recently approved programs in Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Music Business Technology. 9R3. How do your results for the performance of your processes for Building Collaborative Relationships compare with the performance results of other higher education organizations and, if appropriate, or organizations outside of higher education?

Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC compares the results for its Foundation; however, no other comparisons to other institutions of higher education or other organizations are cited. Opportunity/In Progress OCC Response: Relative to other local institutions of higher learning such as the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, and Lourdes University and other organizations such as the United Way, Owens Community College has played in significant role in community partnerships with public schools and community organizations. Owens Community College is partnering with Toledo Public Schools with the Gateway to College National Network grant to assist high school drop-outs to receive a high school diploma and a college degree. In addition Owens participates as an equal partner with the above institutions and organizations, among many others, on the Regional Growth Partnership Board, a group dedicated to the economic growth of Northwest Ohio. For about 10 years the University of Toledo, BGSU, Lourdes, and Owens have worked

together along with a number of local Latino groups, to raise funds for the Diamante scholarships for Latino students. This is the only collaborative scholarship initiative currently existing in the region. 9I1. What recent improvements have you made in this category? How systematic and comprehensive are your processes and performance results for Building Collaborative Relationships? Reviewer’s Feedback: OCC lists a number of initiatives which show the impact of collaboration; however, it would be helpful to show how the process of collaboration has improved and how this process has become systematized. In Progress OCC Response: As the need for grants to support collaborative initiatives has grown, the process for such collaboration has been systematized. For example, recently the College received a grant from the Gateway to College National Network for collaboration with Toledo Public Schools. The process of developing both the proposal and the final contract required a systematic process that was inclusive of administration, staff and faculty from Owens and TPS. Other grants from the Ohio Department of Development (Energizing Careers) have systematized processes with local companies as they seek training for their employees. The Grants Department at OCC has been upgraded recently, adding an administrator and a writer. This upgrade has yielded more opportunities for collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.

The Owens Community College Foundation recently conducted a feasibility study to ascertain what projects the community would support in a major gifts campaign and how much could be raised. The feasibility study revealed a number of potential collaborative donor opportunities. It was the first feasibility study conducted by the college or the college foundation and gave a systemic view of the community’s opinion of the college and the college’s opportunities to reach out, collaborate and raise funds to benefit both the college and the community.